One of the first hurdles in Hollow Knight: Silksong is the lack of a map. After Hornet drops into the Moss Grotto, players are left disoriented in Pharloom’s labyrinth without a way to track their progress. To begin charting the world, you’ll need to save up Rosaries and purchase your first map from a cartographer NPC in The Marrow.
Just like with Cornifer in the original game, this new merchant, Shakra, has essential mapping items that allow one to navigate much more easily.
Finding Your First Map
To access Shakra and purchase your initial map, you will need to travel from Moss Grotto into The Marrow. The path begins following the defeat of the Moss Mother, which accesses Bone Bottom. Travel to the right until Sharma is encountered near the big Bone Gate.
Round about and above to open the gate on the other side, then push straight ahead. Platform up to top-right of next room, head up and left until you come to a great chasm, and pass through Flea Caravan. Above that, go up to upper-left corner of room, then left over floating bells.
The next room, listen up — Shakra will sing you to her. This warrior-mapping soldier will introduce herself before giving you maps that she will sell to you. You can purchase:
- Mosslands Map for 40 Rosaries
- Marrow Map for 50 Rosaries
If you’re short on Rosaries, explore nearby. The Flea Caravan has a secret room above it containing 24 Rosaries, and enemies in the area also drop currency. Once purchased, your map can be accessed with the left bumper, and a new Map tab appears in the status menu to track your exploration.
Essential Mapping Tools
Shakra isn’t a map vendor alone — she also sells a couple of useful items which facilitate charting Pharloom:
- Compass (70 Rosaries): Yellow Tool that marks Hornet’s location on the map when worn.
- Quill (50 Rosaries): Updates the map with details of areas visited every time you rest at a bench.
- Bench Pins (60 Rosaries): Marks all discovered benches on your map.
- Shell Markers (40 Rosaries): Customizable pins which enable you to mark obstacles, secrets, or places of interest.
Having them early avoids confusion and prevents you from ever becoming disoriented.
Obtaining Additional Maps
Shakra is your primary source of maps early on, but she is not the only one. Maps can later be obtained on signposts, through events, or in new areas as you progress in the story.
As a rule, always have your ears listening for Shakra’s vocals, and observe environmental issues carefully while exploring. Doing so will ensure that you never miss a valuable chart of Pharloom’s many dangerous areas.
